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Consumers Less Satisfied With Search, Ads Worst Part Of Experience, ACSI Says

Consumers are less satisfied with search engines in
2017 than in past years. Customer satisfaction in search engines in aggregate dropped by 1.3% to an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of 76.

The ACSI released its E-Business
Report 2017, which analyzes search, social media and news and information sites. The search and online news sectors declined compared with last year, but the social sector held its ground. The
report examines the implications of new customer satisfaction benchmarks.

Those searching and using the web find the amount of advertising on sites to be the worst part of the search and
information experience -- down 4% to a ACSI score of 44 compared with 2016.

All search engines except for AOL lost ground. AOL prior to the integration into Oath improved slightly, inching up
1% to a score of 70.

Google slipped 2% to a score of 82. Microsoft Bing declined 3% to a score of 73, and Yahoo -- now owned by Verizon Communications -- fell 1% to a score of 73.

MSN
took the biggest decline, falling 4% to a score of 72 -- tied with Ask.com, which dropped 1%. And in last place, Answers.com fell 1% to 68.

Despite Google's attempt to improve the web
experience and make it easier to navigate, those using search say engines are slightly more difficult to navigate and the variety of services and information available are less appealing. Site
performance has slowed, content doesn't seem as fresh, and performance on smartphones and tablets seems weaker.

The increase in video views on the web continues to change the perception of
viewers. They want more speed and reliability; however, their assessment of the speed and reliability of video clips deteriorated 3% to a score of 75, according to the report

The customer
satisfaction survey also looked at the experience with mobile. It shows mobile compatibility growing in importance, but search engine and information apps rate came in much lower than they did a year
ago. This year, the satisfaction score dropped to 73, compared with 80 in 2016.

Mobile browser performance declined 5% to a score of 73.

The data is based on interviews with 4,978
customers, chosen at random and contacted via email between June 25, 2016, and May 9, 2017. Customers are asked to evaluate their recent experiences with the largest social media, search and
information, and news websites.